iris Strengthens CRM Positioning with Four Senior Hires

iris is strengthening its CRM proposition by bringing four of the best-known names in the industry into the network. The four new joiners will form a specialist customer marketing practice that will focus on making CRM efforts more personal, rewarding, culturally resonant and profitable for every client.

Mike Cornwell, the former CEO of TBWA\GGT and MRM; Chris Whitson, the strategic co-founder of SFW and former Joint CEO and CSO of MRM Meteorite; Simon Spyer, the co-founder of CRM data and technology consultancy Conduit and Jason Andrews, the creative co-founder of Personal and former Executive Creative Director of Rapp – will join iris to build upon the existing CRM capabilities in the London office. 

Industry-wide CRM is becoming increasingly driven by automation and technology and less so driven by creativity.   Taking a different approach, the new practice at iris will combine the collective power of data, technology and creativity to help relationships between people and brands flourish.

As one of the UK’s leading integrated agencies iris has deep expertise across all disciplines and by adding Cornwell, Whitson, Spyer and Andrews to the mix will ensure clients have access to decades of experience in the customer marketing sector.  They will work with existing iris clients as well as pursuing new client CRM relationships.  The new joiners will also work closely with iris Concise, the business consultancy that operates at the core of iris’ network to help businesses understand their customers better and grow more profitably. 

Steve Bell, Deputy CEO (Global), iris, says: “Now is not the time for brands to compromise.  As they face the squeeze from competitors and challenges in the economic environment, we want to be able to give our clients more choice, more clarity and more confidence.  We want them to access the highest quality of people and output in creative, branding, innovation, pricing, digital, and CRM to deliver a product that adds up to something that is far more valuable than the sum of its parts.”

Mike Cornwell, says: “There are few truly integrated agency offerings.  Iris is one of them. We hope to bring all that already makes iris great – the passion, creativity and focus it on creating stronger, deeper and more profitable relationships between people and brands.”

Chris Whitson comments: “I firmly believe that to build long and mutually beneficial relationships between people and brands you need to engage with them at a deep, emotional level.  You can’t will someone to choose you; you have to inspire and motivate at every stage of the journey.  The iris passion for participation is fundamental to this and makes it the perfect place to build a customer marketing practice that will give clients a refreshing new alternative to the status quo.” 

Image, L-R: Mike – Executive Director, Chris – Strategy Partner, Jason – Creative Partner and Simon – Data & Tech Partner